Sleep
by muggleborn.dragon.ryder
Summary: Astro has a nightmare. Can Tenma convince him it's not real? One-shot.


**A/N: Oh, God...I try to write fluff and it comes out angst. Ah, well...HAPPY FATHER'S DAY. This is my contribution to the day as I'm not really doing anything else to show my appreciation. I mean, I'm also doing a RotG Jack/North father/son one-shot, but really? That's it. I've DONE MY CONTRIBUTIONS! ALL THREE OF THEM! IN AZKABAN!**

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"_Goodbye, Astro," whispered Tenma and he flung the lifeless body down, down, down onto the Surface, in the junkyard._

_The junkyard had always scared Toby Tenma, and that was now where Astro was headed._

_Other broken robots rose up beneath him, tugging him beneath the piles of junk into their lairs, poking and prodding him. Trying to discover what made him tick._

_They were busy questioning why 'the new kid' had gotten to stay 'up there' so long._

_Astro pleaded with them as they opened his chest hatch, finding nothing inside. "How are you alive?" questioned one robot. "Tell us!"_

"_Well, he's useless," declared another. "Better send him to the where the real useless robots go!" _

"_The Robot Games!" he said after a dramatic pause._

_Astro felt a rush of fear. "No, please!" he said, punching thin air as he tried to dodge the god-awful shackles._

He sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily. A new nightmare. He'd been having them all week, ever since the battle with the peacekeeper. This was the first one that involved Tenma, but Astro knew that was what was going to happen.

He'd be packed away. Shoved in a garbage cart. Wheeled to the Surface. Thrown into the yard, with all the other broken, useless hunks of metal.

What a useless existence he led!

He was about to get up when Tenma burst in, flinging open the door forcefully. "Toby!" he breathed gratefully. With his rumpled hair, it was clear he'd been having a nightmare, too. "Toby?" He spotted the robotic teenager sitting up, in bed, awake, hazel eyes dark.

"Hey, Dad," Astro greeted, kicking off his covers. "Lovely night for a flight, huh?"

"Go back to sleep," grumped Tenma, cross he'd woken. He was about to leave when he heard Astro: "Night, Dad."

So much sadness and hurt in such a small voice.

Tenma couldn't leave the child. "Toby? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Astro said quickly. It was a mirrored replica of the way Toby would have said it: a little backwards, but with the high pitch of somebody who was lying like a rug.

"Toby…"

"Dad, it's nothing," Astro said, not wanting to worry the doctor. But before Tenma could say anything else… "Dad, I swear I'll give you no reason to d-dump me on the Surface—

"What?"

"What do you mean, dump you on the Surface—?" Tenma caught what his son was saying and gasped. "You don't think—? Toby, no!"

"Dad, it's fine," Astro said, getting up and unlatching the window.

"You get back here," snapped Tenma, blue eyes flashing with fire. Astro, who knew better than to disobey a direct order, reluctantly walked back over there.

Tenma placed his long, thin hands on the robot teen's shoulders. He was supposedly the most powerful machine in the world, but just a few words could break him. Tenma surprised himself by thinking of how incredibly breakable the robot boy was. And how many times Tenma had broken him.

"Dad—

"No, Toby. It's-it's clear that you don't trust me and you know what? I don't blame you one bit."

"Dad—

"Shh. Just…listen. Just for a sec. After that battle? After what I did to you, Toby, after publicly taking the Blue Core out of you and purposely killing you so I could serve President Stone? It's a miracle you still want to be around me, Toby!"

"Dad!" Astro hated that. Did his dad really carry around that much self-hate? "No, Dad. I…I get it, ok? I always got it. I really do. I get that once I'm useless, you're throwing me away, ok? I don't have to approve of it, but I can get it."

Tenma's piercing blue gaze softened. "Oh, son. How could you ever think…" he trailed off, picking back up in a thicker voice. "…that I'd throw you away, just because you were done?"

"You do it with all the other disused robots," Astro reminded stubbornly.

"Well, yeah, but…I mean, I'd never do that to you."

Astro sighed. "Sure, Dad." Anything to get the man away.

"No, I want you to listen to me," Tenma said intensely. "I love you and I will never let anything happen to you. Okay?"

"Okay."

There was silence.

"Dad?"

"Mm?"

"Speaking of all those other…robots…do you think maybe we could find a place for them?"

"Toby…"

"Please?"

Another long pause.

"I don't know," Tenma said at last. "It's not what we're used to. Us humans, well…we're incredibly fickle minded." He chuckled.

Astro sighed, fiddling with the horn on the side of his head. "Ok. I get it."

"But I don't want you to feel useless, Toby. I'm never letting anything happen to you."

"Dad—

"Shh. Just promise me you'll trust me always."

"Yeah. Sure, Dad."

"No, really." His father insisted.

Astro sighed. "Dad, I do trust you, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"Well, it's not easy!" he burst out. "You…you took my Core out of me, how's that for no trust?"

Tenma quickly controlled the hurt that flashed in his blue eyes. His son had every right to talk that way after how badly he'd hurt him.

First rejecting him, then nearly killing him…how low could Tenma sink?

Maybe, years down the road, Astro would learn to trust again, but really…how could Tenma expect much?

He started to lay back down.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No. I'll be fine. Good night, Dad." Astro's abnormally brisk voice was a sure sign that he'd keep worrying, so Tenma sat. He stayed on the edge of the bed until he heard Astro's slow, deep breathing and knew he'd finally fallen back asleep.

Checking the clock, he saw it was nearly one in the morning.

Yawning, he leaned down next to Astro and gently pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead. In sleep, every inch of fear and distrust was sucked from the robot's body and he snuggled up next to his father and mumbled, "Dad…"

It took a second for Tenma to realize Astro was drifting, not dreaming.

"Good night, son. Sweet dreams, Astro."

As Tenma turned out the light, Astro's eyes slipped open and he smiled, just a little, before falling back asleep.


End file.
